Finding the Way Back
by cheesytoast8
Summary: Formerly "Getting Grant Back" "I mean exactly what I said. I didn't need for Grant to tell me anything about his brother to know the truth, because I already know about it. I lived it." Agent Rebecca 'Becs' Warren is pissed off that Coulson handed Ward over to his abusive brother and is determined to get him back and help him and the team find their way back to each other
1. Getting Grant Back

**Author's note: This is set immediately after Season 2 Episode 6 'A Fractured House', but where Ward did not escape during transport as he was much more thoroughly secured. Anything that happens from episode 7 on is ignored or changed accordingly.**

* * *

><p>Agent Rebecca 'Becs' Warren was pissed as she stormed towards Director Coulson's office at the Playground. She had just heard about Grant Ward being transferred into his Senator brother's custody and she couldn't believe the director could be that stupid. She was going to give him a piece of her mind.<p>

"What the hell were you thinking?!" she demanded as she crashed through his closed door. In her peripheral she saw that all of Coulson's old team as well as Trip, Morse, Hunter and Mack were all present in his office but she wasn't interested in that at the moment. She marched straight up to his desk and slammed her hands down in front of her. "How could you just hand him over to that psychopath?"

"Agent Warren, what do you think you're doing?" Agent May demanded, moving up beside the enraged younger agent.

"All due respect Agent May, I'm not talking to you right now," Becs said without looking at the other woman. "I'm talking to the director."

"Why does it matter to you what happens to Ward?" Coulson asked calmly. Agent Warren was an exemplary agent, a level six specialist with a record that spoke for itself - she was tiny, but fierce and she always got the job done. She had a reputation for being laid back and easy going and before today he would have said she would never speak to a superior like this. But the look on her face clearly said she was out for blood, and it was his she was interested in.

"We are supposed to be the good guys," Becs said, in a slightly calmer manner. Screaming at the director would get her nowhere and she knew that, but her reaction to hearing what had happened to Grant was instinctive. "How can we make that claim when we are freely handing people over to their abusers?"

"Ah," Coulson answered in realisation. "You've heard Ward's lies about his brother. How exactly did he manage to tell you those stories? As far as I know you haven't been anywhere near Vault D."

"Grant didn't have to tell me anything," Becs said, her fury barely restrained at hearing Coulson dismiss Grant's suffering as lies. "And none of what he told you about his brother was a lie. Christian is a psychopath and master manipulator and clearly you fell completely for _his_ lies."

"Christian Ward is a much loved and well respected Senator. I have no reason to believe he would have lied to me about his brother," Coulson explained.

"Then you're an idiot," Becs responded fiercely. "Christian Ward is a monster who destroys people he supposedly cares about. He's abusive and manipulative and shouldn't be trusted as far as Agent Simmons could throw him."

"Hey!" Simmons said indignantly but was ignored.

"Agent Warren I think you would do well to remember that I am your boss. I demand to be treated with more respect than you are currently showing or you can leave my office," Coulson said, starting to get irritated with the way he was being spoken to.

"If this is the kind of agency you plan to run then I want no part in it," Becs responded firmly. "You're supposed to be better than Hydra, but what you've done today with Grant, that's as bad as anything they've done." She turned to leave the room with that, having said her piece but was stopped by another voice.

"What did you mean, Ward didn't tell you anything?" Skye spoke up., causing Becs to turn and look at her.

"I mean exactly what I said. I didn't need for Grant to tell me anything about his brother to know the truth, because I already know about it," at this point she paused to take a deep breath. If she was going to do this, she was going all in. Grant loved this girl after all, so there had to be good in her, despite the way she had been treating him recently. "I was Christian Ward's first wife. I lived it."

Everybody was silent in the wake of her revelation. It took a few minutes before anyone broke the silence, and Becs waited patiently knowing they would have a whole slew of questions.

"How is that possible?" Coulson asked. "I've seen your file and there's no record of you ever having been married. Certainly not to a United States Senator."

"That's because Rebecca Warren was never married to Christian Ward," Becs answered easily. "I was born Rebecca Wesley. I was a pretty, young, idealistic girl when I married Christian and took the Ward name at twenty. He seemed like this wonderful man who did nothing but shower me in gifts. He seemed charming and was respected in the community and sought after as a partner and he chose me. I was thrilled."

"So you admit that he isn't the monster Ward claims him to be," May said.

"No, I'm simply saying that he seemed great at first. And it lasted for a little while," Becs replied. She took a few moments to centre herself before she started telling the rest of her story. "The first time I heard about his brother Grant was two years after we got married and it was just a passing comment at a fundraiser. But that night I asked Christian about it. It was the first time he hit me. He explained the next morning that his brother had tried to kill him in a house fire and so he got upset talking about him, but he was sorry and it would never happen again. That he didn't mean it. I was naïve enough to believe him that it wouldn't happen again, and I didn't ask about Grant again. But I did look into it, and I discreetly asked around, and I got answers.

"After that it was like the seal was broken though – he would hit me whenever he felt like it. He was always careful about where, so as to be able to hide it from the cameras, but it got more frequent and more severe. I was the perfect wife to him, I smiled when I was supposed to, I stood by him no matter what – in front of the cameras we were the perfect couple. But behind closed doors things just got worse and worse. I didn't know what to do, how to get out. I couldn't go to the authorities; no one would believe me. The Wards had Massachusetts very firmly fooled.

"About a year after the first time, I found out I was pregnant. I couldn't stay. There was no way I would subject my child to what I went through at his hand; to what his brothers went through as children. I had to find a way out. So I found little brother Grant. Who, as it turns out, not so little anymore. I managed to get in contact with him without Christian knowing and explained who I was. When I told him that Christian hit me, he said he would be there soon. He flew in the next day, with a plan ready to go. All I had to do was agree." She paused then and turned towards the hacker the man she considered her only family was in love with. "I'm sure you found that Christian's first wife died when you looked into the family Skye?"

"Yeah," Skye agreed. "Tragic accident, car caught fire, dental records were the only way to confirm identity."

"That was the only way I could get out. Grant helped me fake my death and set me up with a new identity. I'm not sure exactly how he managed to get the dental records to match but I think he had some help. He had only been with SHIELD for a few years then and was already a level four specialist. He went alone on ops so he brought me along for a bit, just until I could figure out what I wanted to do with my new life. In his down time he taught me how to defend myself, how to fight, how to be strong. It wasn't long until I knew what I wanted to do – I wanted to join SHIELD, I wanted to help protect the world the same way Grant did. He's only two years older than me but he was my hero, someone I looked up to. He did a lot of great things for SHIELD.

"When I told him what I wanted to do he encouraged me. He said it was a great idea. But he told me I had to do it on my own. He would train me, he would teach me so that I would have the best possible chance of getting in, but I had to get in alone. He couldn't help me with that because he didn't want me to be tied to him in the organisation that way. I thought it was because of Christian, but in light of recent events I suspect it had more to do with Hydra. The only time he ever left me behind and didn't take me with him on a mission the whole time I was with him was a mission with Garrett. He told me it was with his SO and he didn't want anyone to know about our connection so I had to stay, to be safe. He didn't want Garrett to know about me. So I worked hard, I learned as much as I could from Grant, and I joined SHIELD. That was six years ago, and it is the best choice I've ever made," Becs finished.

"So you knew nothing of Hydra?" Coulson asked.

"The first I knew about it was when they came out of the shadows," she responded.

"What happened to your baby?" Skye asked hesitantly.

"I miscarried," Becs asked quietly. "It was just after Grant got me out and I started having these awful cramps. I was not unfamiliar with pain, as you can imagine, but this was excruciating. Grant took me to the hospital. He held my hand and he didn't leave my side as the doctors told me what was happening. He held me as I cried. This man I had known just over a week and he just stepped up and looked after me. When I asked him why, he told me I was family and that's what families are supposed to do. That they should take care of each other. So he took care of me. He's the best person I've ever known, and that includes every person in this room.

"So that's how I know that what he says Christian did to him is the truth. Because he did it to me too. And now, I'm going to go and save my brother from the monster you've handed him over to, director. If you can't accept that then consider this my resignation. If you can then I will come back as soon as I can once Grant is safe." With that she turned to leave the room again, figuring Coulson knew where to find her to give her an answer.

"How are you going to do that?" Hunter called out.

"Give Christian something he wants more," Becs replied with a sad smile and then she was gone, leaving the agents in Coulson's office to think over her words.

* * *

><p>"She's going to hand herself over to him, isn't she?" Simmons asked quietly a few moments after Warren left.<p>

"Yes," May replied when it became apparent that Coulson wasn't going to.

"We can't let her do that!" Simmons said fiercely. "The man abused her, we can't let her just walk back into that. He could kill her! We're the good guys; we're supposed to stop things like that from happening."

"You mean like with Ward?" Mack asked. Everyone turned to look at him and he shrugged before continuing. "Look I get it, he betrayed you all. You're pissed off. That's fine. All I'm saying is Becs had a point. If we can't let her be handed over to her abuser then how can we think it's acceptable to have let Ward?"

Hunter and Morse nodded in agreement. They hadn't been personally betrayed by Ward so they found it easy to see that what had been done to him was wrong. The others just looked at each other before Fitz spoke up.

"He's right," he said quietly. "We can't have that uh, the uh," he looked at Mack for help. "You know, the uh.."

"Double standard?" Bobbi suggested.

"Yes, thank you," Fitz said with a nod. "We can't have that double standard."

"We have to help her," Skye added. "We need to find out her plan and we need to help her execute it, to make sure they both end up safe. Because if she does it on her own I'm pretty sure she's just going to trade herself to ensure Grant's safety."

Coulson finally spoke up for the first time since Agent Warren had left his office. "You're all right. And we will help her. I let my personal feelings towards Ward cloud my judgement and handed him over to his abuser, even though I thought there was something off about the Senator. And no matter what he's done, he doesn't deserve to be back in that man's hands. Skye, go to Agent Warren's bunk. Tell her we will help her get him back and ensure that they are both safe but we need to know her plan so we can help and get her back here."

"Yes sir," Skye responded and took off out of the office.

All the bunks were in the same place, so although Skye wasn't sure exactly which bunk belonged to the other agent she knew she would be able to find it. As it turned out it wasn't that hard as the door opened and the other woman walked out just as she turned into the hallway.

"Agent Warren!" Skye called to get her attention.

"Skye," she acknowledged with a nod. "You can call me Becs."

"Becs," Skye said with a small smile. "We want to help you get him back. All of us. And to make sure you come back too."

Becs studied her for a minute before nodding. "Okay. I won't turn down help. I guess we should go back to the director's office and I can explain my plan."

"Let's go," Skye agreed, turning back in the direction from which she came. They walked in silence, Skye studying the agent beside her. Becs was a little shorter than Skye, with a toned yet curvy body that any woman would be jealous of, dark hair, dark eyes, and a very pretty face. Skye could definitely see the attraction to a younger Christian Ward who wanted the best of everything. It was a few minutes before Skye spoke again. "He was petrified when I told him we were handing him over to his brother," she said quietly. She remembered the look Ward had on his face in that moment and it still gave her shivers. "I've never seen him that afraid. I've never really seen him afraid at all. I've watched him literally dying in front of me and he wasn't even afraid, but just the mention of his brother and he was terrified. I shouldn't have let Coulson do it."

"You couldn't have stopped him," Becs responded. "You should have at least tried, Grant deserved that much. But you wouldn't have succeeded. Coulson has an agency to run, and he made the choice he thought was best to run it. I don't agree with it; I think it makes him an awful person to have done it; but I understand how it happened."

"You don't understand how I could have not tried to help him though," Skye said quietly, looking at the slightly older agent out of the corner of her eye.

Becs stopped at this and turned to look at the younger girl. "It's not quite that simple. I can't understand how you could not believe him after all he told you about his childhood. And if you believed him then yeah, I can't understand how you could be okay with just handing him over to that bastard like that. But I understand betrayal. And especially for you – you were falling for him, so it hit you particularly hard. But he's my brother. I love him. And I know how much he loved you. So I'm angry with you for what you did to him. For all that you've done to him while he's been locked in that cell." She paused here and then took a deep breath and a step closer to Skye and spoke in a quiet yet deadly voice. "And if you ever say anything to him like 'you should have run faster' again, I will kill you. Even if he hates me for it." With that she turned and continued down the corridor, leaving a stunned Skye in her wake.

She was half way through explaining her plan when Skye entered a few minutes later.

"How do you know I said that?" the hacker asked, interrupting.

"Just because the director doesn't know I've been down to Vault D doesn't mean I haven't been down there. I'm a specialist, and I'm very, very good at what I do. Getting in and out of places without being seen is part of what I do; and Grant taught me well. And you aren't the only one that can hack security feeds. Grant's my brother; we look out for each other, no matter what," Becs answered before turning back and finishing explaining her plan.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Coulson asked for what must have been the tenth time as they were pulling up to the venue where Christian was holding an event that night.<p>

Coulson had received an invite from the Senator as a show for the world that SHIELD were not the bad guys, as per their agreement when the director agreed to hand over Ward. His invitation had been open to however many people he wanted to bring, and so Becs, Skye, May, Trip, Hunter and Morse were all accompanying him.

"Trust me, this will work," Becs said again, just about losing her patience with the man. "It's a public event, there's going to be a lot of people here, including a lot of press. And Grant will be here, on display, for the world to see how the good Senator is punishing everyone who's guilty, even his own family. It's our shot."

She got out of the car once she finished speaking, determined to get the whole thing in motion. The others climbed quickly from the car, following her lead. They headed straight for the door and were allowed in swiftly when Coulson produced the personal invitation from Christian. As they entered the ballroom they heard the elder Ward brother giving a speech to the people gathered. They had timed their arrival to coincide with the speech, knowing it was the best way to ensure all eyes were where they wanted them to be.

"Okay," Becs said quietly so only the SHIELD agents could hear her. "Remember, he's probably going to fight you once he realises what I'm doing, but you get him out of here no matter what," she directed at Skye, Morse and Hunter who were responsible for getting Grant out. They nodded in agreement. She then turned to Coulson, May and Trip who were responsible for ensuring she made it out too. "Grant's the priority," she stated firmly. "If it comes down to having to leave me to get him safe, you leave me." They nodded in agreement, and even though Becs knew that they probably wouldn't do as she asked she accepted it because there was no other option. Besides, it was just about time for her to make her move. The six agents accompanying her all gave her one final supportive look before moving swiftly but near invisibly through the room to get into their positions. "Show time," she muttered under her breath before heading towards the podium where Christian was holding court.

"…and while family means everything to me," she heard Christian saying, spewing his usual 'Ward's believe in family' lines to his captive audience. "That does not mean that someone should be excused for their crimes just because they are my family. Every man who commits a crime should be held accountable and punished according to the great justice system of our country. No one should be exempt, no matter who they are related to. And so I support the move to try my brother, Grant Ward, for his crimes and whatever punishment is handed down. And-"

"What about your crimes?" Becs called out loudly from the centre of the crowd, interrupting his speech and causing everyone to turn in her direction. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Grant's head snap up so quickly she was afraid he may have done some damage and she knew he was glaring at her but she ignored him for now. Christian too was looking at her with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open, paling dramatically. She started to move towards the podium, the crowd parting for her and everyone's eyes still on her. "Will you be punished for your crimes Senator?" she asked as she reached him.

She had intentionally placed herself to his left, the opposite side to Grant, so that he had turned his back in his brother's direction. While keeping her attention on Christian, she noted that there were six large, heavily armed men surrounding Grant and that he was quite thoroughly shackled, heavy cuffs and chains around his wrists, ankles and midsection. He could get out of them, she didn't doubt, but she figured he had no reason to before. He was clearly playing along for now, waiting for the right moment to make a move, and a room full of people wasn't it.

"Rebecca?" Christian asked quietly, not realising that the microphone he was previously talking into was still picking up everything he said.

"Hello Christian," she said back quietly, but loud enough for the microphone to pick up her voice too. She wanted his audience to hear everything.

"You're dead," he said, clear fear in his eyes.

"Obviously not, since I'm standing in front of you," Becs responded calmly.

"No!" Christian said firmly. "This isn't possible, my wife died! This is some kind of trick!"

"It's no trick. I didn't die," Becs responded. "You just needed to believe I had."

"Why? I loved you. I grieved you! I was broken by your death!" Christian said, anger starting to come through.

Becs kept her cool in the face of his building anger. This was what she needed, for him to lose control and reveal his true colours to the world.

"You weren't broken; you used my death to get elected! You grieved only as much as was expected of you by the public. And you sure as hell didn't love me. You beat me, nearly every day for a year! You don't even know what love is!" she said, letting her emotions out but ensuring she kept herself under control. She heard gasps through the crowd but she wasn't done yet. "The only option I had to get out was to fake my own death. It was the only way I could save myself and my baby."

"You left me and took my child from me?" Christian asked, his fury barely restrained.

"After everything you did to me, everything you did to your brothers? You bet your ass I did!" she said with no remorse. In her peripheral vision she noticed that Grant was out of almost all of his chains, even his guards too distracted to notice by the show going on between her and Christian. Clearly he too sensed the building rage in Christian and he was going to do what he had always done; protect her at any cost to himself.

"How dare you?" Christian demanded, his anger no longer fully under control. "I demand that you give me my child! Immediately!"

"There's not a chance that that would happen," she responded firmly. "Even if it was possible, I wouldn't let you within a mile of my child. But it isn't, because I was so damaged inside from all your beatings that I miscarried. All the horrible things you did to me, caused me to lose my child. You destroyed me, and it took me a long time to build myself back up. So I ask you again, Senator Ward. Will you be punished for your crimes?"

"You bitch!" Christian spat, raising his hand to hit her. She knew she would never block the blow fast enough, because even though she expected it, she was still scared enough of him that she was semi frozen in fear.

The blow didn't connect, however, Christian's hand being stopped by another wrapping around his wrist. "I wouldn't, if I were you," Grant's voice came from beside Becs. She noticed then that his guards had all been knocked out, presumably with some help considering Morse, Hunter and Skye were standing over them. "You will not touch her, ever again," Grant continued in a commanding tone.

Christian's eyes had widened in fear at hearing his brothers voice, realising that he had managed to get away from his guards and out of his chains. "How?" he muttered before continuing in a slightly stronger voice. "How did you get free?"

"You think some chains and a few guards could hold me?" Grant asked, finally releasing the Senator's hand, with a shove that made the older brother stumble slightly. "I've gotten out of worse. Many times."

"Then why did you stay in them for so long?" the Senator asked, turning briefly to look at the guards that had surrounded his brother but looking back quickly. The SHIELD agents had faded back so that it wasn't obvious to the Senator that his brother had had any help, not that he truly needed it.

"He wouldn't get out for himself," Becs spoke up. "He knows he's done wrong; he believes he deserves to be punished. He got out for me."

It was at that statement that everything clicked for Christian. He turned all his attention on Grant. "You helped her fake her death and leave me."

Even though it was a statement and not a question, Grant responded. "I did."

"Who do you think you are, taking my wife away from me? What gives you the right?" Christian ranted, having completely forgotten the captive audience.

"She asked for my help. I was happy to provide it. I wasn't going to let you continue to hurt her," Grant replied calmly. "I have a long list of crimes that I have to answer for, but helping your abused wife get away from you is absolutely not one of them." Grant turned to look at Becs, being sure to keep an eye on Christian. "What the hell are you doing here Becs?" he asked quietly.

"I'm not going to let him hurt you again either," she responded firmly. "You're my family Grant, and we take care of family."

"Well isn't that sweet," Christian sneered from where he was watching them, not noticing as the room was cleared completely of civilians. "The two of you bonded. It doesn't matter, my brother is a criminal and he will be executed for his crimes."

"Actually he won't be," General Talbot spoke as he entered the room, causing the Senator to spin around and face him. "He'll be remanded to the custody of SHIELD where he will be tried for his crimes and punished accordingly."

"There's no way I'm letting that happen," Christian spat.

"Well it isn't up to you," Talbot replied. "This order comes right from the top. The President is endorsing SHIELD and tasking them with destroying Hydra, he believes your brother will be an asset in doing so, and so he is ordering that he be released to SHIELD. Immediately. Failure to comply is unacceptable."

"They can't just release him! He's a criminal! A killer!" the Senator raved.

"No one said anything about releasing him," Coulson spoke up. "I believe the general said that he would be tried and punished by SHIELD."

Looking around the room, Christian quickly realised that he had no chance of winning. Everyone in the room was either with Coulson or Talbot. He turned back to his previously dead wife.

"You're going to pay for what you've done here today," he hissed, taking a step closer to her.

Grant quickly moved between them. "You don't get any closer to her," he said sternly.

"Who's going to stop me?" Christian scoffed. "You? You've never been able to stop me before. What makes you think you would stand a chance now?"

"Because I'm not afraid of you anymore," Grant replied strongly. It may not be the truth, but he was a convincing liar. "And if you even think about hurting my sister, I will end you."

All of Coulson's agents had gathered around while Grant was speaking, clearly showing where their support lay. Christian wasn't an idiot, he knew when it was best to concede. And right now, that was his best option.

"Fine. But this isn't over," the elder Ward brother said before storming out of the room.

"You ever risk yourself like that for me again and I will kick your ass," Grant said to Becs angrily, before pulling her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tightly.

"You don't scare me Grant," she responded stubbornly. "And besides, you'd do the same for me."

They pulled out of the hug but Grant kept an arm wrapped around her shoulders, and she one around his waist. "What happens now?" Grant asked, looking between Coulson and Talbot.

"I'm not actually sure," Coulson replied, looking towards Talbot. "Was what you said true?"

"A hundred percent. I don't know what happened, but I got an urgent call from the President himself telling me I needed to get here right away and make this happen. Someone sure seemed to have lit a fire under his ass," Talbot replied. He was a little perplexed by the order himself, but it wasn't his job to question orders.

Everyone looked around at each other, unsure how that would have happened, except Grant who looked straight at Becs with a raised eyebrow. "What did you do?"

"What? You think my plan was just to surprise Christian with being alive? You know I'm smarter than that!" she answered. "I just put in a call and asked for a favour. I saved his daughters' lives, he was happy to arrange to have my brother taken away from his abuser. I assured him that I didn't want to you just be released, I simply wanted you to be able to help. He was on board with that plan; he believes that if someone wants to be better they should have that chance. You want it; he was prepared to make the arrangements to give you the best chance of achieving it."

"There aren't a lot of people in the world that can ask the President for a favour and have it granted. Especially one like that. And especially not that quickly," Talbot said, an impressed look on his face.

"There aren't a lot of people in the world like Becs," Grant replied with a fond smile. "She's very hard to say no to."

"We should get back to base," May spoke up from by Coulson, receiving a nod of agreement.

"I should get back too now that this is all sorted," Talbot said. "I'd keep an eye out for the good Senator though. He'll have the shitstorm caused by today's revelations to deal with, but he'll be looking for revenge."

"We'll deal with it when the time comes," Coulson said. "Thank you for your assistance."

"No problem. You don't say no to an order from the President," Talbot replied, shaking his head and leaving the room, his soldiers going with him.

"You'll come along willingly?" Coulson asked Ward.

"After today, Christian is going to come after Becs. And all of you. There's no way I'm leaving you to deal with that alone," he said by way of response. "I'll do whatever it takes to be able to protect you all."

"Okay then. Let's get out of here," Coulson said and headed for the door. May, Trip and Morse followed after him, with Ward and Becs trailing after them, arms still wrapped around each other. Hunter and Skye took up the back, Skye's eyes never leaving Ward's back as he ducked his head to whisper with Becs.

"Green's not a good colour on you, Agent Skye," Hunter whispered in her ear just before he climbed into the SUV.

Skye followed him with a glare. "I don't know what you're talking about," she hissed between clenched teeth, her eyes finding there way back to her ex-SO.

"Sure you don't," Hunter laughed before turning to talk to Trip, leaving Skye to stew in her obvious and completely unfounded jealousy.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: This is something I would potentially like to continue as a series, but want to know if there's any interest for that. It would be Ward and the team all working their way back to each other with the addition of Becs as Ward's strongest supporter.<strong>


	2. Setting the Conditions

The trip home from Senator Ward's fundraiser was a fairly quiet one. Coulson and May spoke softly to each other every so often from where they sat in the front; Grant and Becs had their heads together and murmured to each other for most of the ride; Hunter, Morse and Trip exchanged words quietly; and Skye sat silently, staring at her former SO and the woman he showed such obvious affection for. She knew exactly what this feeling in the pit of her stomach was but she refused to acknowledge it. She told herself she was only watching him to ensure that he didn't try to escape – he was a prisoner after all. But she knew that wasn't it. She was jealous, plain and simple.

"You're staring," Hunter muttered to her under his breath. "And I'd be willing to bet money that he's noticed."

"I'm just keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn't try and pull anything," Skye fed him her excuse, speaking louder than she had meant to and drawing everyone's attention.

Coulson had turned in his seat to look at her sympathetically, while May was shooting her a raised eyebrow in the rear view mirror. Trip and Bobbi were looking at her a little pityingly, clearly having seen through her lie, while Becs was shooting her a glare. Ward looked at her with a sad look on his face, before turning away to look out the window.

"Who exactly are you trying to convince?" Hunter mumbled, earning himself a smack in the shoulder from his ex-wife.

Becs went to speak up, but was stopped by Ward's hand squeezing hers. "Don't Becs, she's entitled to her anger," he said softly, but loud enough that everyone heard. Becs huffed, annoyed but nodded slightly to acknowledge him. She didn't agree, but she would stand down at his request. This time, anyway.

Everyone was silent after that for the rest of the ride, no one knowing quite what to say to break the awkward tension.

* * *

><p>Ward headed straight for his previous cell in the basement when they reached the base, Becs tagging along with him. He couldn't handle facing everyone right now and needed some time to process. Plus, he doubted anyone really wanted him around anyway.<p>

"Ward," Coulson called before they even reached the end of the hall, causing them to turn back in his direction. "We'll be meeting in the morning to discuss what to do next with regards to you. You will probably get new accommodations but it will be a decision everyone has to make together. So the cell is necessary tonight."

"It's fine," Ward dismissed. "I don't mind the cell. It's quiet. And it will make you all feel better." With that he and Becs continued on towards the basement, leaving the agents remaining shocked.

"So what happened?" Fitz asked to those that had gone to the event once they were out of sight.

"Agent Warren confronted the Senator as discussed, revealed the truth about why she faked her death. He almost assaulted her in a room full of people but Ward stopped him. And then Talbot burst in with an order from the President that Ward be released immediately into our custody, where he would help us to take down Hydra and his fate would be decided," Coulson summarised the events of the night.

"From the President?" Mack asked with a whistle. "Your boy must know some pretty powerful people to get that kind of order handed down."

"Not him. The little one," Hunter provided with a grin. "Apparently she saved the President's daughters and so she called in a favour. She's a fierce little thing. You shoulda seen her going toe to toe with the dirty Senator. I would not like to be on her bad side."

"Really?" Mack asked with a raised eyebrow. "I mean you could tell she was fierce when she stormed into the director's office earlier, but calling the President and asking for a favour? That's ballsy."

"Yeah mate," Hunter agreed. "Ward's one lucky guy to have her in his corner. She would take on armies for him, and probably win."

"We can all agree that Agent Warren is remarkable," Coulson interrupted. "But we're getting off topic. We need to discuss what to do now with Ward."

"What do you mean exactly?" Simmons asked. "What would we do with him exactly? And why did you say he might be getting new accommodations? Shouldn't he remain in his cell?"

"Well the orders from the President said that he would be released into our custody where he could work to help us take care of Hydra," Coulson explained. "Apparently he's a strong believer in giving people a chance to better themselves and he thinks Ward can be better."

"So what we just let him roam free?" Simmons asked.

"No," May answered. "We don't just let him roam free, we give him conditional freedom. Restrictions on what he can and can't do; a monitoring bracelet; required check ins throughout the day to ensure he is doing only what we allow."

"Ah before we go any further shouldn't Becs be here for this discussion?" Bobbi asked.

"Why would she be?" Skye asked. "She's not a part of this."

"I beg to differ love," Hunter responded. "She very much is a part of this. If it wasn't for her this discussion would not even be taking place. So I would think-"

"Exactly!" Skye exclaimed. "If not for her we wouldn't even need to worry about this because he would be locked up awaiting his fate where he belongs! We shouldn't include her in this or who knows what she'll arrange for him next. He's a monster!"

"You think he should still be in his brother's custody?" Mack asked carefully not wanting to set her off again after that outburst.

"It's what he deserves," Skye responded.

"No one deserves to be handed over to their abuser," Bobbi said sharply. "And that you'd even say that, it says a lot more about you than it does about him. You can be angry, you can hate him, even he isn't denying you that right. But don't ever say that he deserves to be in the hands of someone who abused him for years. There's nothing okay about that."

Everyone was quiet after that, not knowing how to move the conversation along and shocked by what Skye had said. They were angry at Ward too but saying he deserved to be back in Christian's hands was too far. The only ones that seemed to agree with her were Simmons and to some degree Coulson.

"I think we should wait and have this conversation with both Ward and Becs present," Hunter offered after a few minutes had passed in silence. He held his hand up to prevent any protests before going on. "Just hear me out. Becs should definitely be here – she's the one that had this all arranged and he is her family so she deserves a say. As for Ward, well the way I see it he has to agree to whatever terms are set out so he should at least get to be a part of the discussion. It is his life we're all discussing after all."

Bobbi, Mack and Fitz all nodded in agreement immediately, Trip a moment later. May was watching Coulson, Simmons and Skye for signs of what they thought before she too signalled her agreement.

"It's the right thing to do Phil," May said quietly to him.

"They're right," Coulson said to Skye and Simmons. The two girls hesitantly nodded their agreement, although neither was entirely happy with that plan. "So we will all meet up in the morning, let's say around nine in the main conference room?" He received affirmative replies from the group assembled. "Hunter, can you let Agent Warren and Ward know?"

"Will do," Hunter replied before leaving the room. Bobbi, Mack, Fitz and Trip trailing him out of the room.

* * *

><p>"Hey kids," Hunter called bounded down the stairs in Vault D. Ward and Becs looked at him questioningly from where they sat on the bed as he flopped down to join them.<p>

"Uh.. hey?" Becs said hesitantly. "What, uh, what're you doing down here?"

"Meeting at nine in the morning to discuss you," he said inclining his head in Ward's direction. "Coulson asked me to let you both know."

"Why do I need to know?" Ward asked. "I figure once they're done discussing it they will let me know what conditions they are placing on me."

"Well they thought it would go down that way too. But Bobbi, Mack and me, well we disagreed. Figure you should get a say in your life and all that. Plus, if we left the little one here out she'd probably kick all our asses," Hunter explained, causing Becs to poke her tongue out at him.

"The little one?" Ward asked.

"Well sure. She's pretty tiny," Hunter said. "Fierce as anything, but still tiny."

"I'm not sure if you're insulting me or complimenting me," Becs complained.

"It's definitely a compliment. Now I'm off. Don't forget, nine in the morning, main conference room!"

With that he was bounding up the stairs as quickly as he had bounded down.

"That was weird," Becs muttered.

"Oh yeah," Ward agreed. "I think it's time for you to get some sleep Fire Cracker," he added when he saw her trying to hide a yawn.

"I told you not to call me that!" she whined, lightly punching him in the shoulder.

"Sorry," he said, completely insincerely. It was a nickname he had given her the first time he saw her get really fired up over something and despite the fact that she hated it, it had stuck. "But really, go get some sleep."

"Can't I stay here with you? I'm already comfy and I don't particularly want to face any of them tonight. There's a chance I'll punch them if I do."

He studied her closely for a few moment. "Okay, and now the real reason?"

"Seeing Christian threw me," she admitted quietly. "I'm all off kilter and I just need to feel safe right now." She looked up and met his eyes. "You're my big brother. The safest place I know in the world is with you."

"Okay," he relented easily. If he was being honest he was feeling a little off after the encounter with Christian too and didn't really want to be alone. "But only for tonight and you better not put your cold feet on me or I'll kick you to the floor. You know I will!" he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Deal," she said with a grin before making herself comfortable.

He lay down too and they manoeuvred until they were comfortable – not touching, but easily in reach if one of them needed the comfort. The bed wasn't very big, but thanks to him taking her along on missions years ago it wasn't the most cramped space they'd ever had to share. Besides, they were family.

"Hey Becs," Ward said softly.

"Yeah," she mumbled.

"Thanks for coming to get me."

"Always."

* * *

><p>The sight that met Ward and Becs when they entered the main conference room the next morning was interesting. It seemed that the team was split into three distinct sections. At one end of the table sat Coulson, with Skye to his right and Simmons to his left. At the other was Hunter with Bobbi to his left and Mack to his right, Fitz beside Mack. In the centre of the other side of the table sat May and Trip, a few seats between May and Simmons to her right, the same with Trip and Fitz to his left. If she had to guess, Becs would say that Hunter's end were on Ward's side, Coulson's end were against him and May and Trip were remaining neutral for now but she couldn't say for sure.<p>

Everyone had looked up at them when they came through the door and so they had paused, not getting any closer to the table. A good thirty seconds passed before Fitz broke the silence, looking up to meet Ward's eyes.

"I'm sorry I tried to kill you," the engineer said clearly.

Ward studied him for a moment before responding. "I'm sorry I threw you out of a plane."

Everyone looked between the two of them, unsure what was going to happen next. Finally, Fitz nodded, Ward returned the nod and then Becs and Ward finally sat at the table, choosing seats opposite Trip and May. Silence reigned again, no one really knowing how to start.

Finally Hunter had had enough. "Oh come on guys! Somebody, say something!" Everyone turned to stare at him so he decided that he would start the conversation. "Well okay then, I'll start. Clearly the air needs to be cleared. Young Fitz here seems the only one brave enough, you could all take a lesson from him." He directed this statement at the three people at the opposite end of the table to him.

"Fitz shouldn't have apologised," Skye said. "He wasn't the one in the wrong."

"So you don't think it's wrong to try and kill someone?" Becs asked. "Someone that's locked up and unable to defend themselves? To cut off their air supply? You think that's okay?"

"Well that's exactly what was done to Fitz," Simmons spoke up. "By Ward."

"Fitz still had a supply of air," Becs argued. "And that pod was meant to float! If it had, there would have been no issue at all."

"Well it didn't!" Simmons yelled. "And now Fitz is-" she cut herself off abruptly.

"Fitz is what?" the man in question asked quietly. "What am I Simmons? Damaged? Different? Broken?"

"You're not broken," Ward spoke up quietly, gaining everyone's attention. "Just a little bruised. And I'm so, so sorry about that. If I could change it, I would. But I did what I thought was best-"

"How was that what was best?!" Skye demanded.

"It was better than having to shoot them in the head," Ward answered.

"That's just another one of your excuses," Skye argued. "They were locked in that pod; you couldn't have shot them if you tried."

Ward looked at her carefully for a moment, and then at the other faces surrounding him. Finally he decided to just ask the question that had bugged him all the times that accusation had been made against him. "Are any of you familiar with the instrument panel that controls the med pods on the bus?"

The team looked at each other questioningly but none of them really were so slowly they shook their heads.

He nodded, suspecting that to be the case. He looked down at the table as he spoke again. "Then you aren't aware that there's an override switch that opens the pod from the outside even if it's been locked from the inside?" A shocked silence was his only answer. After a few moments had passed he looked up and met Skye's eyes. "If I had waned to shoot them, all I had to do was override the lock and open the pod. It would have been that simple. But Fitz was right," at this he looked in the direction of the engineer. "I cared. I couldn't shoot you; I knew I wouldn't be able to do it. So I ejected the pod instead. I didn't know how it would end up but at least it gave you a chance."

Silence engulfed the room again as everyone avoided looking at each other. Finally, Simmons spoke up. "How do we know you aren't lying about this, like you lied to us for months?"

"Go and see for yourself," Ward replied. At this everyone went quiet again, no one really knowing how to respond to that.

"We're getting off track," Coulson said finally. "This meeting isn't about that. It's about what we are going to do with Ward now."

"I disagree," Mack spoke up. "I think getting everything out in the open is key to this discussion. If everyone doesn't have all the information how can you make accurate decisions about what to do?"

Bobbi and Hunter nodded along with him as he spoke. It was easy for them – they hadn't been personally betrayed by Ward. But it took everyone else a few minutes to concede that it was the right thing to do.

"Okay so where do we start?" May spoke up.

"I think you should acknowledge your wrong doing in handing Grant over to Christian," Becs answered quietly. "Even if you felt you were doing it for the right reasons – to save your agency - you must realise that it was wrong."

Coulson hesitated a moment, looking around the table. Finally, he stopped on Ward, looking at the younger man as he spoke. "She's right. I had doubts about what your brother told me but I was so angry with you still that I ignored them and decided you were lying and he was telling the truth. I knew better, but I handed you over to him anyway. I shouldn't have done that."

"You were doing what you thought was right," Ward said. "I don't agree with it; a part of me hates you for it; but I can understand it. I wish it was different, but it is what it is."

Becs reached for his hand on the table, giving it a quick squeeze which he returned. Everyone noticed but ignored the gesture, except Skye, whose eyes narrowed.

"Since we're all being so honest, what's really going on between you two?" she demanded, staring at her former SO.

Ward's confused eyes raised up to meet hers. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You and Becs. There seems to be something going on between the two of you. She fought just a little too hard to save you. And you're very touchy feely with her which isn't at all like you," Skye snarked. "And let's not forget that she spent last night in your bed. So what is it Ward? Are you screwing your brother's wife now?"

"You're way out of line right now Skye," Ward said quietly. "You can be angry at me; you can hate me; you can say whatever horrible things you want about me. But don't you dare speak about Becs like that. In answer to your horribly inappropriate question, nothing is going on between us. I'm not screwing my brother's wife. Becs is my family, she's my sister. It is that simple. And we stayed together last night because neither of us wanted to be alone after having to face Christian yesterday."

Skye looked appropriately chastised at his rebuke and quickly backed down. Everyone else at the table was looking at her with pitying expressions, except Hunter who simply looked amused by the entire exchange.

"So moving along," Coulson said. "Is there anything else anyone would like to say before we discuss the conditions of Ward's being here?"

Becs was a little pissed that no one but Fitz had even acknowledged their wrong doing while Grant had been in the cage in Vault D but one look at Grant's face told her to leave it alone. He was staring intently at her, almost as if he knew what she was going to say and was begging without words for her to just let it go. So she bit her tongue for now, but she would be sure to confront each of them later.

"I'd like to say something," Ward said looking at Coulson. He received a nod and took a deep breath before looking out the window between Trip and May's heads as he spoke. "I've done a lot of terrible things in my life. There are a lot of instances, including betraying this team, where I wish I had chosen a different path. But I didn't and I can't change that now. The only thing I can do now is to try and do better from this point forward. And that's what I intend to do. I did wrong, both in general and by all of you, but I want to try and make amends. I don't ask for forgiveness, because I know I don't deserve it from any of you. I just ask for a chance to show you that I can do better. I can help you take down Hydra. I will do everything within my power to help you with that task. I'll adhere to the conditions you give me and I'll work my ass off to help you. And when it's all done, I will go back to prison. Because I've done wrong and I will accept my punishment for that."

Everyone stared at him as he spoke, the sincerity clear in his voice. Not a single person in the room doubted he was being completely honest at this moment. It didn't mean they all trusted him. Some of them – Coulson, Skye and Simmons especially – still doubted him. But they were all prepared to give him a chance. Not that they really had a choice, since they had an order from the President pretty much saying they had to.

"Alright," Coulson said. "I'm going to lay out each of the conditions I think are necessary and we can discuss them as we go. If anyone wants to add anything when I'm done we will consider those as well.

"First will be a tracking bracelet. It will be similar to what Skye wore for a time on the bus, but as well as monitoring your communications it will prevent you access to certain areas of the base and from leaving without express permission. May and I will have control over where you can and can't go. Obviously, we will provide you with a list of where you are allowed."

He stopped talking and looked around the table. No one had any questions so he went on to the next condition.

"Next, your sleeping arrangements. You will be provided a bunk to sleep in. You will be expected to return to your bunk by a certain time each night, unless permitted otherwise by May or myself. The door of your bunk will not lock. Admittance to and inspection of your bunk by any agent currently in this room will be allowed at any time they request it. You are not permitted to have the door closed if anyone else is in your bunk with you." Again, he looked around the table and no one seemed to have any questions.

"You will be assigned tasks to complete when we don't require intel from you. These tasks will be varied and you will be expected to complete them all without question unless there is a legitimate reason that you can't. Check ins throughout the day will be required at regular intervals to ensure you are staying on task with what we ask of you and that you are not doing anything you shouldn't. The person you need to check in with will vary depending on the tasks you are doing that day, but it will always be someone currently in this room. You will not be going out in the field for a very long time, if ever. In fact, you will not even be leaving this base unless granted express permission by either myself or May.

"You will not be allowed to handle any weapons. At all. For any reason. If you are found with a weapon in your possession you will immediately be moved back to Vault D and all of your conditional freedom revoked.

"You are not an agent. Therefore you will be provided only with the information I deem necessary for you to provide assistance. As far as you are concerned, everything else is classified. You will not approach any agent at this base outside the people in this room for any reason. If the agents in this room want to speak to you only for the purpose of check ins then you won't approach them for any other reason. If any other agent approaches you, you are not to engage them in conversation, you should excuse yourself and inform May or myself of the occurrence."

He paused and looked around the table. No one voiced any kind of disagreement and he received a nod from Ward.

"Lastly, you will not speak to Skye about her family-"

"What?" Skye asked from his side.

He ignored her and went on. "You will not speak with Skye about her family for any reason. This is non negotiable."

"If she approaches me and asks?" Ward asked quietly.

"Then you do not answer her."

"That's totally unfair!" Skye said angrily. "And it isn't your decision to make. If I want to know about my family and he has answers I have every right to ask him!"

"It's non negotiable Skye. If you ask him and he answers you, he will find himself very quickly locked back in his cell."

Skye stared at him mutinously but quickly realised that the director was not going to give on this. She gave a quick nod and then turned away, not wanting to look at him anymore.

"Does anyone have any conditions they'd like to add?" Coulson asked. He received head shakes from everyone at the table. "If anyone thinks of anything else at a later point come and see me and we'll address it." This time he received nods all around.

"You understand that violating any of these conditions will find you very quickly locked back in Vault D," he asked Ward and received a nod in reply. "Okay then, I think we're done here. You will need to come with me to my office so we can fit the bracelet and I can give you your bunk assignment and the list of places you are permitted to go."

"Yes, sir," Ward agreed standing from the table when Coulson did. He squeezed Becs' hand quickly before releasing it. "I'll catch up with you later," he said to her and received a nod in return.

He followed Coulson and May out of the room and in the direction of the director's office. Simmons and Skye were quick to leave the room once they were gone, the two whispering between themselves.

"You were awful quiet during that meeting little one," Hunter spoke up to Becs once the two were gone.

"This will only work if they give him a real chance," she said softly, looking up at Hunter. "But while he desperately wants it; wants to somehow make up for everything he's done; he feels like he deserves everything that gets thrown at him. He'll never ask them to treat him fairly and so they won't. They'll treat him like trash, and he'll just take it. He deserves a real chance."

"Then we'll make sure he gets one," Bobbi said. "We'll treat him like a person, and give him people in his life. He won't be alone anymore. We'll make sure of it."

The men remaining at the table all nodded.

"I'm pissed at him," Trip said easily. "He did wrong. But he's admitted that. He knows he did wrong. I'm in support of him having a chance to be better. I'll do everything I can to help him with that."

"Me too," Fitz said. "I want to give him a chance too. Because I don't think he's ever really had one. And I was angry before, so so angry. And I acted rashly. And I regret that. I have making up to do too."

"So he's got you," Mack said nodding his head at Becs. "And he's got us," he waved his hand to encompass the five of them. "We'll help him out."

"Definitely," Hunter agreed. "We're on team Ward." With that he waved his hands in the air like he was waving pom poms, making Becs laugh.

"You're good people," she said. "And I know the others will come around. It just kills me to see him hurting like this."

"Well we will just have to help them see how wrong they are," Hunter said with a grin.

"Why do I get the feeling that any plan you have can only end badly?" Becs asked.

"Probably because most of his plans do end badly," Bobbi said with a wink at Becs. "Now I would say he should be just about finished up with Coulson, what say you and I go and help him settle into his new room?"

Becs nodded. "Let's go then," she agreed, linking arms with Bobbi and walking out of the room.

"I don't know if those two becoming friends is a good idea," Hunter muttered after they were gone. "I'm pretty sure together they are going to be unstoppable."

"Well lucky we're on their side in this then isn't it?" Mack asked with a grin.

* * *

><p>"So the girls finally left you alone huh mate?" Hunter asked leaning in Ward's open bunk door.<p>

"Yeah," the other man agreed. "Becs is always intense but the two of them together. Not gonna lie, I've faced down some scary things but that just about takes the cake."

"I said just the same thing to Mack earlier. The two of them together will be unstoppable. Lucky we're on their side isn't it?"

"Their side?" Ward asked curiously.

"Oh yeah. We're Team Ward. Didn't they tell you?" Hunter asked with a grin.

"Team Ward? What exactly is that?"

"We're in full support of your efforts here and are going to do everything we can to help you. And we're going to help the others see that you're worth betting on."

"They're entitled to their anger," Ward said quietly. "And I can take it. I hurt them; I can't expect them to just be okay with this."

"Well sure, they're entitled to their anger. But that doesn't mean they can treat you like crap. You're still a human being and you deserve to be treated as such. They should get off their high horses and realise you aren't the only one that's done wrong here."

"Yeah but I've done more I'm a killer-"

"We're all killers, mate," Hunter interrupted. "Look, I used to be a merc, so I don't exactly have any moral high ground to stand on you know? But there shouldn't be a double standard. You're a killer. So is Bobbi, so am I, so's May and Trip and Coulson. Even your girl is a killer now."

"Wait, Skye killed someone?" Ward asked.

"Yeah, that gifted, Donnie something? He was freezing up a ship while May and me were still inside. He had been forced to comply by Hydra and she was ordered to take the shot," Hunter explained.

"I didn't know," Ward said quietly. "Something seemed different about her but I couldn't pinpoint it. Is she okay?"

Hunter studied him for a moment and he only just managed to contain the broad grin threatening to break out on his face. "She says she's fine. Everyone else seems to think she's fine. But you know the cost of taking a life as well as I do. She's more than likely not fine. But she is dealing.

"So back to what I was saying. We're all killers. So don't be too hard on yourself about that mate. You've gotta learn to forgive yourself.

"You sound like Becs," Ward said with a smile.

"Well the little one is right. And you're not alone anymore mate. Just remember that."

With that Hunter left Ward alone in his bunk. He had been aware of Ward claiming to have feelings for Skye, and what he had just seen and heard confirmed that. He had to find the little one and talk to her about this. He saw her heading down the corridor and jogged to catch up to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her into a supply closet as they passed it.

"Hey what the hell Hunter?" Becs demanded, smacking him in the shoulder. "You trying to scare me or something? Because I'm definitely not making out with you in here."

"Apologies little one, but we needed to talk in private," he said grinning at her like a crazy person.

"What exactly do we need to talk about?" she asked suspiciously.

"You want Ward to be happy right?" he asked.

"Of course. More than anything," she agreed.

"Good. Then you'll help me get him and Skye together right?" he asked.

She stared at him silently for close to two minutes before she responded. "I'm already planning on helping him repair his relationships with all his old team. But especially with Skye. Right now, they are bad for each other. Toxic even. But I want to help them find their way back to each other. Because even though she's acting as though she hates him right now-"

"It's obvious how she really feels," Hunter finished for her. "And he isn't even trying to hide how he feels."

"Exactly. So yes, I will help you, but we do this my way. They have to fix what was broken first. And to do that, they need to sort through all their issues. It's not going to be pretty, and it's not going to be quick. But I think they belong together."

Hunter's already large grin increased to epic proportions. He stuck his hand out in front of him for her to shake. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," he said.

She reached out and shook his hand, a huge grin breaking out on her face in reply. "I think you might just be right."


	3. Beginnings of a Bromance

**PART THREE**

Ward woke up at exactly 5.30 the next morning, as usual. He got out of bed and started his usual in-room workout, being sure to keep quiet as he didn't want to disturb anyone. He knew that he shared one wall with Becs and the other with Hunter and while he didn't think either of them would be too angry, he still thought it best to keep the noise down.

As he worked out he thought back on everything that had happened the last couple of days and could hardly believe how much things had changed. He went from being a prisoner, to being handed over to his brother, to being brought back into SHIELD and being given conditional freedom. And with people who were apparently on is side. The day before after leaving Coulson's office he had been bombarded by Becs and Bobbi who seemed determined to help him 'settle in' to his new bunk. Or so they kept telling him. He wasn't sure exactly what they were helping him do, since it wasn't like he had anything to unpack, but they hung around for close to two hours.

And just after he finally managed to convince them to leave Hunter had shown up. The other man hadn't stayed long, but his visit had given Ward a lot to think about. There was people here who actually wanted him to succeed – and were apparently calling themselves Team Ward which he just didn't know how to process. And Skye had apparently taken a life. He knew how damaging that could be and he just hoped that she was being appropriately supported after what happened. That kind of thing shouldn't just be swept under the rug.

There was a quick knock on his door just as he was finishing up before the door swung open, revealing Hunter. "Rise and shine," he announced with a grin looking at Ward's bed. When he realised Ward wasn't there his brow furrowed and he looked around the rest of the small space to find him. He pouted when he saw him. "Well you already being up takes all the fun out of waking you."

"You'll have to get here a lot earlier if you want to wake me," Ward responded from his position on the ground. "I wake at 5.30 every day."

"Every day?" Hunter asked. "With no alarm or anything?" He received a nod from Ward. "Well that just makes me feel like a slacker."

"You are a slacker," came Bobbi's voice from the hallway. Hunter was standing in the doorway blocking the entrance, but she managed to duck her head under his arm to shoot Grant a grin. "Good morning Grant."

He smiled at her use of his first name. While they were helping him 'settle in' the day before he had gotten to know her a little, and she him. She had told him immediately to call her Bobbi and then asked him what he preferred. He had said he didn't mind and she had decided that she would call him Grant, since that's what Becs called him and she had decided that she was claiming him as her brother as well.

"Morning Bobbi," he returned.

"Wait, wait. Are we calling him Grant now?" Hunter asked, looking at his ex-wife. "Do we need to change our team name to Team Grant?"

"No, no, it's remaining Team Ward," Bobbi assured him. Then she tilted her head slightly to wink at Grant with Hunter seeing. "And you don't have to call him Grant, I just am 'cause I've decided he's going to be my brother too. And that's what his other sister calls him."

"You can't just decide someone's going to be your brother Bobbi," Hunter said with a roll of his eyes before turning to look at Ward. "See the kind of nonsense I've had to put up with?"

"Ah I'm pretty sure she can just decide that," Ward answered him, the smile stretching slightly on his face at the way the two interacted. "In fact, she already declared it to be the case yesterday. And even I know better than to try and change the mind of a determined woman."

"See! I told you," she said to Hunter, poking her tongue out at him. She then turned back in Ward's direction. "So you ready for today?"

He thought about it for a moment before answering, wanting to give her as honest an answer as possible. "I think so. I'm a little nervous, a little worried, especially about who I'm going to have to do check ins with today. But I think I'm as ready as I'm going to get."

"Not to worry, mate," Hunter said with a wide grin. "You're spending the day with me."

Ward looked between the other man and Bobbi a few times before finally settling on her. "Why do I feel like I'm definitely not prepared for the day now?"

She shot him a grin. "No one is ever prepared to spend the day with him. There is no way to prepare for such a terrifying event." With that she ducked back under Hunter's arm and took off down the hallway, before he had a chance to say anything.

"And she wonders why I call her a she-devil," Hunter muttered as he watched her move down the hallway. "Anyway," he continued turning back to Ward. "We're spending the day together you and me. Let's go get breakfast."

He moved back into the hallway and then waited for ward, so they could walk together. "I was going to grab a shower before breakfast," Ward said as they started down the hall.

"You can do that after," Hunter replied. "If you don't get to breakfast early around here you miss out on all the good stuff."

Ward shrugged in agreement. He honestly wasn't too concerned on missing 'the good stuff' but it would be nice to have someone to eat with and he wasn't sure when Becs usually had breakfast, so Hunter was a good next choice. They entered the cafeteria then and Ward scanned the room out of habit. The wall directly opposite him had a few windows with blinds down to cover them; about a dozen round tables were spread throughout the room; and the food service run along the wall to his right, where you could see the kitchen behind. There were two doors on the wall to the left, clearly labelled as toilets and the only exit was the door they entered through. He noted that there were only a handful of people in the room and he knew them all. At a table to the left of the room by the wall sat Mack, Becs and Bobbi and at a table in the middle sat Skye and Simmons. He checked the watch on his wrist when he saw his former rookie and saw it was just after seven.

"Is Skye always up this early?" he asked Hunter, being sure to keep his voice low enough that no one else would hear the question.

Hunter flicked his gaze in the hacker's direction as he led Ward towards the food service. "Usually. May likes her to get up early to train before breakfast."

"And she just does it? Willingly?" Ward asked. He wondered how May managed it – he had tried for months to get Skye up early on the bus with very little luck.

"Seems so. She's sorta May's mini me, you know?" Hunter said as he started loading his plate.

Ward filled his plate with some food as he thought about that. It had already been obvious to him that this wasn't the girl he knew but he couldn't believe she was so far removed from that girl now that she was basically a clone of May. And he couldn't believe May would just let that happen – she had always said that she didn't think anyone should aim to be as shut down as she was. He followed after Hunter automatically, too lost in his thoughts to even realise he was doing it until he found himself beside the table Becs, Bobbi and Mack were sharing.

"What's got you looking so thoughtful?" Becs asked as he sat down.

"Hmm? Oh nothing really. Just wondering what Hunter has in store for me today," he said offering her a smile.

She narrowed her eyes at him, knowing that he was lying but not really sure why. She decided to let it go for now though, figuring he would tell her what was up when he was ready.

"I'm meant to be cleaning and reorganising the gym today," Hunter said with a sly grin.

"Which means I'll be cleaning and reorganising the gym today," Ward deduced. He focused his attention on the table he was at; clearing his thoughts of anything but the conversation he was a part of. There was no use in dwelling on Skye right now – he would think about it more later most likely, but for now he needed to focus on what was going on with him.

"Right you are mate. Right you are."

"You are not making him do that for you Lance!" Bobbi said sternly.

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked, a look of mock outrage on his face. "He's mine today! That means he has to do whatever I tell him."

"Did you not listen when Coulson explained how this would work?" Mack asked with a laugh. "He isn't a slave to do your job for you. You're meant to assign him tasks and ensure he completes them. He can help you clean and reorganise the gym, but he doesn't have to do it for you."

"I don't mind," Ward spoke up. "I'll do it for you."

"You seem far too enthusiastic about that idea," Hunter said suspiciously. "Why do you want to do it for me instead of with me?"

"No reason," Ward shrugged innocently, causing Becs to giggle once before she got it under control.

Hunter turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "What do you know little one?"

Becs straightened out her face into a blank expression. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Fitz appeared at the table at that moment, placing his tray down beside Mack and sliding into the seat. "What are you talking about?" he asked as he started eating.

"We were just talking about what Ward's going to be doing with Hunter today," Mack supplied.

"Oh yeah," Fitz said as he looked at Ward and then looked to Hunter. "What's on the agenda for you blokes today?"

"Well I'm meant t be cleaning and sorting out the gym and so I was going to just get Ward to do it. But Bobbi and Mack say I've gotta help him, can't just make him do it himself," Hunter complained.

Fitz snorted and started laughing at that. "You want him to help you organise the gym?" he asked Ward incredulously.

"No I'm happy to do it by myself. They want him to help me," Ward replied, indicating Bobbi and Mack.

Fitz turned to look at Hunter. "You're probably better off just letting him do it himself."

Hunter looked to Becs, who nodded in agreement.

"It will end better for you," she said.

And then he looked to Ward who just shrugged at him. "What the hell is going on!" he demanded loudly, gaining the attention of everyone else in the cafeteria, including Simmons and Skye.

"When it comes to organisation I tend to be a little bit of a-" Ward began quietly explaining to Hunter trying to get rid of all the attention now focused on them.

"Control freak," Fitz suggested, interrupting him, as Becs "Pain in the ass."

He shot them both a dirty look before he went on. "- Perfectionist. If things are already organised and it's done well I'm fine but if I'm doing the organising myself it's probably better I do it alone. Or I may bite your head off."

"It's true," Fitz agreed. "The only time I was ever afraid of him was when I helped him organise the armoury on the bus. I thought he was actually going to shoot me a couple of times when I put things in different places to where he thought they should go."

"That's nothing," Becs said, a mischievous look on her face. "At one point when I was staying with Grant in New York I-"

"We swore to never speak of that again!" Ward interrupted, glaring at her.

She held his gaze stubbornly for a few beats as everyone else at the table looked on, wondering who would win the battle of wills. Everyone else in the cafeteria had lost interest in their table after it quieted down after Hunter's outburst, except for Skye and Simmons who were still staring in their direction. Upon seeing the stare down going on between Ward and Becs they decided to approach the table.

"What's going on here?" Skye asked once they were close enough, sending Ward a dirty look, which he ignored unwilling to break eye contact with Becs at that moment.

Finally, she was the first to look away, tilting her head in defeat and then turning to look at Skye. "Nothing really. We were just discussing what Grant and Hunter are going to be doing today," Becs answered her question.

"Wait, what about the New York story!" Hunter demanded petulantly.

"No can do my friend," Becs said with a grin. "I did promise to take that secret to the grave."

"What New York story?" Simmons demanded.

Becs went to respond but was interrupted by Fitz.

"You know what I think your job should be tomorrow Ward?" he asked randomly as he finished off the food in front of him. He went on before anyone got the chance to respond. "I think you should make breakfast. In fact I think maybe that should be one of your tasks every day. Making breakfast. I miss your breakfasts."

"That's actually a really good idea," Becs said enthusiastically. "You do make an awesome breakfast. We should go ask Coulson right now!"

"Relax Becs!" Ward said with a chuckle as she jumped out of her seat. "I'm not sure if he'll agree to it but I will ask him and see. But it doesn't need to be right now."

"Because right now we need to head down to the gym and get started or we'll never get it finished," Hunter added supportively.

The two of them said their good byes to everyone else at the table and got up and headed for the door.

"Don't worry about what Becs and Fitz said at breakfast," Ward said conversationally as the neared the gym. "I will do whatever you tell me to and I won't bite your head off."

"Nah mate," Hunter said. "If you're a tidy, neat freak type then I will do whatever you tell me to. I hate organising stuff so if you have a system I'd rather just follow it."

"If you hate organising stuff then why are you organising the gym?" Ward asked.

"Lost a bet," Hunter replied with a grin as he opened the door and walked into the gym, leaving Ward laughing softly behind him.

* * *

><p>"Hunter's very chatty isn't he," Ward said to Becs that night as they sat side by side on his bed watching a movie on her laptop.<p>

Becs hid a grin, knowing that it wasn't necessarily that Hunter was always chatty – just that he'd taken a liking to Grant. "A little I suppose," she agreed.

"He didn't shut up all day," Ward went on. "And he kept offering to get things for me."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "What kind of things?"

"Like drinks and snacks and stuff. And it wasn't like he was just trying to get out of the work because if I said no he wouldn't just go and get it for himself; he would wait until I wanted something."

"Maybe he was just trying to be nice," Becs suggested.

"I suppose," Ward conceded. "And he asked me to play poker tomorrow night with him, Fitz and Mack."

"You agreed right?" Becs checked.

"Yeah. I thought it could be fun."

"Good," she said with a smile. "Now be quiet, I'm trying to watch the movie."

He went to reply but was interrupted by a knock and the door opening.

"Brought you a beer," Hunter said as he came into the room, moving straight to the bed and making himself comfortable on the other side of Becs, passing Grant the beer.

"Where's my beer?" she asked.

"Sorry little one, didn't know you were in here," Hunter said, not sounding sorry at all. "And besides, after the awesome job our boy here did in the gym today, he deserves a beer. He's like some kind of organising Yoda or something." Becs and Grant both chuckled at that. "So did you end up talking to Coulson about breakfast?"

"I didn't," Ward replied. "But Fitz did. And apparently because Fitz requested it, it's now part of my conditions for being out of the cage that I make breakfast every morning."

"Excellent," Hunter exclaimed as he stood from the bed. "Well I'll see you bright and early! Have a good night. Night little one."

With that he left as abruptly as he had arrived. "That was weird right?" Ward asked.

Becs shrugged slightly, a small smile on her face. Apparently her dear adopted brother wasn't aware that he was in the beginnings of a bromance with Hunter – and she definitely wasn't going to tell him yet. She was far more interested in seeing how long it took him to figure it out for himself.

* * *

><p>"That was just about the best breakfast I've ever had," Bobbi said as she finished off her plate the following morning.<p>

She was sitting at a table with Becs, Mack, Fitz and Ward in the cafeteria. Hunter had joined them with Ward after the latter finished making breakfast, but the ex-mercenary had to leave to see Coulson about something a few minutes earlier when he finished eating.

"I have to agree," Mack said.

"Told you it would be awesome," Becs said with a grin while Fitz just nodded still busy eating.

A slight pink tinged Ward's cheekbones as he got embarrassed. "It's nothing special really," he dismissed. "But I think there's something wrong with Hunter."

"Why?" Bobbi asked curiously.

"Well he got up early again this morning to sit with me in the kitchen while I cooked. Just to chat. It was very strange," Ward explained, his brow furrowed. He wasn't sure what was going on with the other man but he seemed to be around constantly since he'd been back on the base.

Bobbi went to answer him but was stopped by Becs' slight head shake. It took her a moment but she realised that the other woman had already figured it out but didn't want to come out and tell Grant. She decided to tell him a sort-of-truth instead. "Well sometimes he's just chatty you know?"

Mack shot her a look, knowing that while Hunter could be chatty it wasn't the reason he was with the ex-specialist, but at Bobbi's look he cottoned on to what was going on and just agreed. Fitz, having picked up on the look between Becs and Bobbi just smiled amusedly while finishing his breakfast.

"Don't worry Ward," the engineer said. "Everything is fine."

Ward looked at the people sitting at the table with him and knew there was something they all knew that they weren't telling him, but decided to let it go for now. He would either figure it out or they would let him in on it eventually.

"Well I have to go find Trip. I'll see you guys later," he said standing from the table.

"Check the gym," Mack called after him. "He usually works out around now."

Ward nodded in thanks and then left the room, the four remaining at the table laughing as soon as the door closed behind him.

"He really doesn't realise what's going on?" Bobbi asked between chuckles.

"Nope," Becs confirmed. "I don't think he's ever been in a situation like this before and he's just very confused."

"You aren't going to tell him?" Mack asked after his laughter had calmed down.

"Definitely not," Fitz answered for him. "Watching him try and figure it out will be too good to miss."

"Exactly," Becs agreed with a grin and a high five for Fitz.

* * *

><p>Two weeks later and Ward had gotten used to Hunter always being around and had even found that he enjoyed the other man's company. He was still a little confused about it but had decided to just go with it. You rarely saw one without the other around the base unless they were working separately; Hunter even choosing to continue joining Ward in the kitchen every morning.<p>

In that time Ward had found himself working for Trip, Mack and Bobbi a few times each and Hunter another couple of times. Unfortunately neither Fitz nor Becs had been assigned as his supervisor, but Fitz was usually around when he worked with Mack and Becs liked to check in on him throughout the day no matter who he was with.

He also hadn't been assigned to Coulson, May, Simmons or Skye but he was actually quite happy about that since he still copped dirty looks and the occasional snide remark – particularly from Skye and Simmons – whenever he passed them in the halls. He had avoided them where he could for the most part, but it wasn't always possible, so he just ignored them when he did see them. At first he had let it get to him a bit, especially with Skye, but after talking about it with Hunter and then Becs and Bobbi he had realised that he shouldn't concern himself with them right now if they were going to behave that way. His focus needed to be on the things that he could work on and try and mend right now – namely himself and things with Fitz and even Trip.

The previous day, he had, with the support of the aptly named 'Team Ward' – Becs, Hunter, Bobbi, Fitz, Mack and Trip – approached Coulson and asked about the possibility of seeing a therapist. The director had been hesitant at first, citing 'issues' such as security and clearance but Team Ward refused to back down, arguing that it would be going against his rights as a human being for Coulson to deny him help when he asked for it. Becs had even gone so far as to approach Agent Thorne, who worked on the base and was a qualified therapist, prior to the meeting with Coulson, and had already gotten her agreement to help – so she argued that the 'security and clearance issues' were moot. Coulson had had no choice but to give in and it had been set up – his first appointment was the following morning immediately after breakfast. He was a little nervous, but he also knew it was the right choice. He wanted to get past everything in his past and he knew this was a good step in doing that.

"What's got you looking so thoughtful?" Fitz asked from across the lunch table.

It was currently just the two of them at what had become the Team Ward table – someone, and he suspected it was Bobbi or Hunter, had even carved that into the centre of the table, a fact he was sure the director was not yet aware of. Mack was his supervisor today and when Fitz had started complaining about being hungry the mechanic had told the two of them to get out of his garage and go to lunch early, saying he would be along as soon as he finished what he was working on.

"I'm just thinking about seeing Agent Thorne tomorrow," Ward admitted. Usually he wouldn't admit such a thing, but he was working on being more open with his friends.

Fitz nodded in acknowledgement and was quiet for a few moments. "I'm really glad you're back you know?" he asked quietly.

Ward studied him for a few beats and easily saw the truth in what he was saying. "I'm glad too," he responded just as quietly.

Just then Hunter slammed his try down on the table in front of the seat next to Ward and sat down heavily. "Your girlfriends are driving me nuts!" he complained.

"She's not my girlfriend," they both answered instantly.

Hunter looked between the two of them with a smirk and shook his head. "And yet you both knew exactly who I was talking about," he said smugly as he snuck a piece of tomato off Ward's plate and the rest of the group joined them.

"Who were you talking about?" Trip asked.

"Their girlfriends," Hunter replied waving a hand at Ward and Fitz.

"She's not my girlfriend!" they both said again quickly.

"Don't let them catch you calling them that," Bobbi warned.

"They're likely to attack," Becs added, barely restraining a grin at Grant sneaking a fry off Hunter's plate.

She met Bobbi's eyes but had to look away quickly to stop herself from laughing. It had been two weeks and Grant still hadn't figured out what was going on, although he seemed to have decided to just let it be, which amused them greatly.

The doors to the cafeteria opened then, Coulson's voice trailing in, causing everyone to turn and look. The director very rarely ate in the cafeteria, preferring to hold up in his office, usually with May, so this was unusual. He seemed to be giving the young woman with him a tour. She looked to be mid twenties, about 5'9", with caramel coloured skin, dark hair and dark eyes.

"- and this is the cafeteria. Lunch is just starting so it shouldn't be too busy right now." Coulson looked around then and spotted them all staring and seemed to have a slight internal debate before he guided her over to the table. "This is Agent Lucy Rosten. She's going to be joining the team in the lab," he said to the table. He then indicated around the table as he introduced everyone. "This is Agent Leo Fitz, our engineering specialist; Mack, our mechanic; specialists Agent Rebecca Warren-"

"Becs is fine," she interrupted with a smile.

"Becs," Coulson conceded with a nod. "Agent Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter." He hesitated on ward not quite knowing how to explain him. "And this is Grant Ward."

Agent Rosten waved to each person as they were introduced and then stopped on Ward. "Of Hydra?" she asked curiously.

"Formerly," Ward replied. "Although my loyalty lay with Garrett not Hydra."

She studied him for another few beats and then held out her hand. "I'm sorry for your loss," she said, shocking everyone present. He reached for her hand hesitantly, not entirely sure where this was going. "Agent Garrett may have turned out to be a little crazy, but I believe he was almost like a father figure to you?" Ward nodded slightly in agreement. "I had someone like that, and when he died it was painful for me. No matter who Garrett turned out to be, losing someone that had been so important in your life for so long must have been painful. So I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"Thank you," Ward said quietly. Becs had been the only one to really address how the loss of Garrett – such a central figure of his life for so long – had affected him and he was amazed that this woman he was just meeting, even knowing everything she apparently knew about him, was offering such compassion. "Would you like to join us for lunch?" he asked without thinking.

"That would be nice," she replied with a smile, glancing around the table to make sure everyone was alright with it before she agreed. She turned to Coulson then and asked "As long as that's okay director?"

"Sure," Coulson replied, still trying to process what she had said about Garrett. "Just join me in my office when you're done. If you don't remember where it is, I'm sure someone will help you." With that he turned and left the cafeteria, still thinking on what she had said.

"I'll just grab some food," Agent Rosten said with a smile and headed for the service area.

"We've never said that have we?" Hunter asked after a few moments of silence at the table.

Ward looked up at him with a slight smile. "I've never expected it."

"We should have said it anyway," Fitz replied. "Just because we don't like Garrett doesn't mean we can't acknowledge your pain at losing him. He was in your life a long time. I'm sorry Ward."

"Thank you," Ward said with a smile for Fitz. "But really, it's not necessary."

The others at the table all murmured their sympathies for his loss as well and he thanked them all, even while telling them it was okay.

Hunter, wanting to break the silence that had fallen over the table, decided to tell them all what Skye and Simmons had done to drive him nuts that morning, starting just as Agent Rosten joined the table with her tray.

She observed all the people around her and thought that they seemed like a really nice group of people and it was nice to see that agents here could in fact laugh – the only other agents she had been introduced to had been May, Simmons and Skye, all who seemed to be permanently frowning.

She watched as Hunter and Ward – everyone had told her what they preferred to be called after she referred to Bobbi as Agent Morse – shoved each other in their chairs, joking about something that had happened the week before and spoke before she even thought.

"Wow you two have a pretty serious bromance going on don't you?" she blurted as she looked between Hunter and Ward.

Hunter just shrugged but Ward looked confused. "A what?" he asked.

"A bromance," she said again, looking around at the other agents at the table, all of whom looked amused. "Or am I reading this situation completely wrong?"

"No, no, not at all," Becs responded before she burst out laughing. "Grant just hadn't quite realised what it was yet and we were waiting to see how long it would take him," she added between laughs.

Ward looked around the table and realised that this was what everyone else knew that he didn't. "A bromance," he murmured quietly looking around the table. "Really?" he asked louder when his eyes stopped on Becs.

"Oh yeah bro. You're playing a lead role in what might just be one of the most epic bromances of all time," she replied happily.

He stared at her for a moment before turning to look at Hunter. Everyone froze then, wondering how he was going to react.

"Well," he said slowly, the beginnings of a grin showing on his face. "I suppose I could do a lot worse than you," he said to the ex-mercenary. At that everyone dissolved into laughter once more.


End file.
